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Ink & Ember is an independent bookshop and café with locations in Stamford and Peterborough. We are now opening our third site in Nottingham - bringing all the signature Ink & Ember charm, alongside an exciting brand-new in-house bar.

We are looking for a dedicated Bookshop Manager to lead our retail team from day one (and help shape the shop before launch). You’ll work in close partnership with our Café & Bar Manager to deliver an exceptional, welcoming community space.

This is not a role for someone looking to simply clock in and clock out. We want someone who cares about this shop the way we do - who will champion the right reads, remember the regulars, meticulously curate our shelves, and make Ink & Ember Nottingham the city's favourite place to get lost in a book.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Experience: Ensure every customer receives a warm, knowledgeable, and consistent experience. Act as the face of the brand, handling customer queries and feedback professionally while maintaining our core values in all interactions
• Daily Operations: Manage the day-to-day running of the store, including opening and closing procedures, maintaining immaculate merchandising and visual standards, and acting as the lead on Health & Safety compliance
• Stock Management: Take ownership of our shelves. Place and receive stock orders from approved suppliers, log deliveries and discrepancies, conduct regular stock takes, and actively manage slow-moving stock with recommendations for returns or promotions
• Team Leadership: Supervise, motivate, and nurture our team of Bookseller-Barista/Bartenders. Manage rotas, conduct regular check-ins to build a positive culture, support new starter inductions, and escalate HR matters as needed
• Events Management: Ideate, plan, and execute a vibrant monthly events calendar. Coordinate with authors, venues, and suppliers, manage ticketing and logistics, and oversee the on-the-day running of our events
• Finance & Administration: Handle daily till operations, float management, and daily cash reconciliations. Forward supplier invoices promptly, manage petty cash within agreed limits, and be able to analyse sales data, footfall, and events income
• Commercial Reporting: Manage your section's P&L targets and deliver weekly performance reporting to the Operations Manager
• Atmosphere: Keep your team motivated, the shop spotless, and every guest warmly welcomed
  

What We Are Looking For

• Proven retail management experience, ideally within the independent sector or a bookstore environment
• A genuine love and extensive knowledge of books, with the ability to confidently recommend titles across multiple genres
• Exceptional organisational skills, with a keen eye for visual merchandising and an understanding of stock control and basic financial reporting
• A natural leader who brings out the best in the people around them, with experience in rota planning and team motivation
• A community builder who is excited to plan, host, and run literary events, author talks, and book clubs
• Digitally savvy, comfortable creating engaging, on-brand social media content for social media
• A highly responsible, can-do attitude, where you can hit the ground running, manage your own time, and work efficiently under pressure
  
• Flexibility to work shift patterns across our opening hours (tentatively set as):
  • Monday to Thursday: 10am to 8pm
  • Friday & Saturday: 10am to 10pm
  • Sunday: 10am to 6pm

What We Offer

• A competitive starting salary, reviewed following probation
• A permanent, full-time role (37.5 hours) at the heart of an exciting new opening
• Generous staff discount on books, café, and bar
• A creative, independent working environment where your ideas are welcome and encouraged
• The opportunity to grow with the brand as we expand

How to Apply

Send your CV and a short note detailing your relevant experience and why you’d love to join Ink & Ember to paige@inkandember.store.

• Application Deadline: Wednesday 28th October at 5pm
• Interview Notifications: If you have not heard from us by Sunday 1st November, your application has unfortunately been unsuccessful on this occasion
• Due to licensing requirements and the operational nature of this role, applicants must be at least 18 years old at the time of application